What Happened to Monday

What Happened to Monday
Netflix release poster
Directed by Tommy Wirkola
Produced by
Written by Max Botkin
Kerry Williamson
Starring
Music by Christian Wibe
Cinematography José David Montero
Edited by Martin Stoltz
Distributed by SND Films (world)[1]
Vendôme Pictures (world)[1]
Netflix (US)[2]
Release date
  • August 5, 2017 (2017-08-05) (Locarno)
  • August 18, 2017 (2017-08-18) (United States)
Running time
 123 minutes[3]
Country
Language English
Box office $19.6 million[5]

What Happened to Monday (known as Seven Sisters in Canada, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Slovakia and Japan) is a 2017 dystopian science fiction thriller film, written by Max Botkin and Kerry Williamson, directed by Tommy Wirkola and starring Noomi Rapace, Glenn Close and Willem Dafoe.[6] The film was released theatrically in Europe and Asia and Netflix bought the streaming rights to the film for the United States as well as the U.K. and Latin America.[2][7] Netflix released the film on August 18, 2017.

Plot

Around the year 2043, overpopulation has caused a worldwide crisis, resulting in a strict, one-child policy enforced by the Child Allocation Bureau. When multiple children are born to one mother, all but the eldest are put into cryosleep. All citizens are tracked by electronic bracelets. Karen Settman dies while giving birth to identical-septuplet sisters. Their grandfather, Terrence, names them after the days of the week and trains them to pose as a single individual named after their mother, leaving the house only on the day of their name. To safeguard their secret, Terrence ensures they share information daily and replicate any physical accidents that alter appearance. The sisters use wigs and makeup to cover any identifying features, with Terry even going as far to keep them safe by amputating the tip of the first finger of each sister after Thursday injures herself.

Years later in 2073, as Sunday returns from the church, she sees C.A.B. agents detain a child as onlookers protest. The siblings watch the recorded incident and debate turning themselves in, but not seriously. The following day, Monday prepares her disguise as Karen, nervous about giving a presentation. At a checkpoint, Monday runs into Adrian Knowles, a C.A.B. agent who flirts with her. At the bank, Monday's co-worker, Jerry, a competitor for the promotion, hints at blackmailing her.

When Monday fails to return home, Tuesday retraces her steps. Tuesday learns that Monday got the promotion and met Jerry at a bar. Before she can investigate further, C.A.B. agents detain her and cut off her communications. In the CAB facility, Adrian sees Tuesday being escorted to a cell, where she meets Nicolette Cayman, head of the Bureau and a candidate for parliament. Cayman explains that she knows about Tuesday's siblings, and, when Tuesday offers a bribe, Cayman reveals Monday offered the same deal. Cayman orders C.A.B. agents to assassinate Tuesday's sisters.

C.A.B. agents use a severed eye to bypass a retinal scanner at the Settman home. Thursday ambushes the agents as they arrest the other siblings. The sisters kill the agents, but Sunday dies. Learning the eye is Tuesday's, the sisters suspect Jerry may have sold them out. The next day, Wednesday leaves without disguising herself and confronts Jerry. He reveals that "Karen" got the promotion when she sent millions of euros to Cayman to fund her campaign. After a C.A.B. sniper kills him, Wednesday flees Jerry's apartment.

The others remotely guide Wednesday to safety but are interrupted when Adrian shows up at the sisters' apartment, concerned about "Karen." They deduce that Adrian has been having a long-term sexual relationship with one of the sisters, and Thursday convinces Saturday to leave with him. Saturday, pretending to be Karen, has sex with Adrian at his apartment and covertly links their bracelets, allowing Friday to hack into the C.A.B. On a video feed, the sisters believe they have found Monday in a holding cell. Meanwhile, C.A.B. agents corner and kill Wednesday. After Adrian leaves his apartment, C.A.B. agents kill Saturday as she tells them Monday was dating Adrian. The sisters' apartment are raided simultaneously by a C.A.B. squad led by Joe. Admitting that she cannot survive on her own, Friday sacrifices herself to allow Thursday to escape and rescue Monday.

Adrian hears about the incident and rushes back to the Settman apartment. Thursday confronts him, blaming him for her sisters' deaths. Adrian now realizes "Karen" is an assumed identity for several siblings, and claims to love Monday. Thursday reveals to Adrian that Monday is still alive, and he agrees to help her. Adrian sneaks Thursday into C.A.B. headquarters in a body bag. While in the bag, she secretly records a child undergoing cryosleep. Instead of being frozen, the child is incinerated. After overpowering the guards, Adrian and Thursday proceed to rescue Monday. However, when they reach her prison cell, they discover Tuesday inside. They deduce that Monday has sold them out to Cayman.

As Cayman hosts a fundraiser, Thursday shoots Monday and leaves her for dead while Tuesday and Adrian broadcast Thursday's video footage. The crowd turns on Cayman, who insists that she only did what was necessary. Monday staggers into the fundraiser but Joe shoots her, thinking that she intended to kill Cayman. Adrian shoots Joe in turn. As the crowd flees, a dying Monday reveals to the others that she is pregnant and makes Thursday promise to not let the C.A.B. take her unborn children. In the aftermath, the Child Allocation Act is repealed and Cayman faces the death penalty. Thursday, Adrian, and Tuesday watch Monday's and Adrian's twins develop in an artificial womb. Tuesday and Thursday rename themselves Terry and Karen, respectively.

Cast

  • Noomi Rapace as The Settman Siblings – Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday – septuplets sharing the identity of Karen Settman, a banker
    • Clara Read as The Young Settman Siblings
  • Willem Dafoe as Terrence Settman, the siblings' grandfather
  • Glenn Close as Nicolette Cayman, the head of the Child Allocation Bureau (CAB)
  • Marwan Kenzari as Adrian Knowles, a CAB security guard
  • Christian Rubeck as Joe, the head of Security of the CAB
  • Pål Sverre Hagen as Jerry, Karen's coworker
  • Tomiwa Edun as Eddie, the septuplets' doorman
  • Cassie Clare as Zaquia, a CAB agent
  • Robert Wagner as Charles Benning, a journalist

Release

What Happened to Monday premiered at the 2017 Locarno Festival.[8]

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 60% of 30 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 5.8/10.[9] Jessica Kiang of Variety called it a "ludicrous, violent, amusingly dumb sci-fi actioner". Kiang said that, although it is full of plot holes and Rapace's characters are thinly characterized, it is likely to become a cult film.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 John Hopewell, Elsa Keslassy (May 6, 2015). "Cannes: SND Takes Noomi Rapace Sci-Fi Actioner 'Monday?'". Variety.
  2. 1 2 Setoodeh, Ramin; Lang, Brent. "Toronto: Netflix Buys 'What Happened to Monday?' With Noomi Rapace (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  3. ↑ "WHAT HAPPENED TO MONDAY". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Kiang, Jessica (6 August 2017). "Locarno Film Review: 'What Happened to Monday?'". Variety. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  5. ↑ "What Happened to Monday?". The Numbers. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
  6. ↑ Richford, Rhonda (31 July 2015). "Willem Dafoe Joins Glenn Close, Noomi Rapace in 'What Happened to Monday'". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 1 August 2015. The Oscar-nominee boards the sci-fi thriller as it starts principal photography in Romania.
  7. ↑ "'Seven Sisters' Trailer Shows off Noomi Rapace's Strong 'Orphan Black' Vibes". 2 June 2017.
  8. ↑ Kohn, Eric (2 August 2017). "Isabelle Huppert, Noomi Rapace, and Bodybuilders: 7 Must-See Summer Movies From the 2017 Locarno Film Festival". IndieWire. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  9. ↑ "What Happened to Monday (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
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